Carol Smith Isn’t Worried About Harper’s Bazaar

Carol Smith, Harper’s Bazaar’s Publisher, isn’t worried about the magazine sinking. Despite Harper’s Bazaarreducing its publishing frequency, Smith tells Adweek that the change was “not a defensive move,” and that “I got to take the savings and reinvest in the magazine.”

Some of that money most likely went into her e-commerce idea. Smith explains:

I’m going to open The Bazaar. It’s going to be in spring 2012. It will be digital, but it might be a store within a store, too. It will be entirely connected to edit. Glenda [Bailey, Editor-in-Chief of Bazaar] is entirely on board. I know David [Carey, President of Hearst Magazines] was very interested in it because when I went to Condé Nast, he was working on something with Gourmet that was very similar.

If that doesn’t work, it seems Smith will be at peace with it. She says of Bazaar’s chances, “Here’s what I do know: I don’t want to be derivative. If you’re going to fail, fail at something new.”

It’s good to hear that Smith remains confident. If the captain of the ship is still yelling “Sail on!” even though there has been a few leaks, then there’s always a chance to stay afloat.